TIM KELLY FILE PHOTO | John Romanelli with Southold Library director Caroline MacArthur earlier this year after Mr. Romanelli donated equipment to allow the library to heat with biofuels.
John Romanelli, a former town councilman and owner of a Southold fuel oil company, was in critical condition at Stony Brook University Medical Center after suffering extensive burns Friday when a fuel line ruptured and the biofuel being offloaded from a tanker truck sprayed out and ignited.
Mr. Romanelli, who police said was using a heat source to thaw a frozen pipe, was burned across the front of his body.
“It was a freak accident,” said town Police Chief Martin Flatley, who arrived at Mr. Romanelli’s company, Burt’s Reliable, on Youngs Ave. just minutes after what was described as a quick flash fire at about 7:20 Friday morning.
A truck was delivering biofuel, a mixture of petroleum and organic fuels such as soybean oil, the chief said. Mr. Romanelli was heating a frozen pipe when a crack opened in the biofuel line and about 20 gallons of the mixture sprayed out and was ignited by what might have been a tourch Mr. Romanelli was holding.
“A flame flashed really quickly, but didn’t continue burning,” the chief said. But when Mr. Romanelli’s clothes remained on fire several employees using fire extinguishers doused the flames. After he was treated by Southold Fire Department first responders Mr. Romanelli was airlifted to Stony Brook.
Fire chief Keith Cummings said it appears Mr. Romanelli was caught in a significant fireball that left scorch marks 30 feet up on the canopy over the company’s unloading area.
The next 24 hours will be critical, said his brother, Paul Romanelli of Cutchogue.
He said his brother was in shock, but conscious and talking when rescued and he described the fire department’s response as “phenomenal.”